Colorado State University Athletics
Denny leads new-look Rams defense to familiar heights
11/4/2016 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
The Colorado State Rams have long been prideful about their defensive prowess. The Rams ranked second in defensive hitting percentage a year ago, and have been in the top 15 in blocking in the NCAA eight times in the last 11 seasons. It’s safe to say that defensive dominance has been critical in CSU’s run of seven consecutive Mountain West championships and 21 straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
The defensive personnel changed quite a bit between 2015 and this season, however. Three-year starting libero Jaime Colaizzi? Gone. All-Region middle blocker Acacia Andrews? Gone. Six-rotation players Adrianna Culbert and Alex Reid? Gone. Associate Head Coach Brook Coulter? Gone.
Defense in volleyball is all about cohesion, communication and trust. Those elements develop over time. The only returning Ram with significant back-row experience was Cassidy Denny, a senior that inherited the alternate-color jersey after regularly rotating in as a defensive specialist for three years. Also coming back was all-conference middle blocker Alexandra Poletto, who led the team in blocks in 2015. Most of the rest of the 2016 roster was made up of newcomers and players in new roles.
Denny, being the team’s lone senior, was thrust into a job that consisted of not only guiding the defense, but also serving as a team leader on and off the court. The other defensive specialists on the roster – North Texas transfer McKenna Thornlow, Mariah Green, and true freshman Amanda Young – entered 2016 having never stepped on the court in competition for CSU.
“She’s certainly taken it upon herself to teach everybody where to go defensively,” Head Coach Tom Hilbert said of Denny. “She’s had to learn a new position too; she’s never played left-back before. She acts like a coach on the floor sometimes to teach people where to go and how reads work.”
Another new addition was assistant coach Emily Hiza, who arrived at CSU after coaching defense in the Pac-12 at Oregon State. Hiza, a native of Swink, Colo., arrived in Fort Collins with a lot of puzzle pieces to put together.
“She’s been very good, and we’ve shown steady improvement from the spring through the fall and to now,” Hilbert said. “A lot of our new players have shown a lot of improvement, too. They were very green and she’s had to really shepherd a lot of people along. We taught her the primary backcourt defenses we’ve been playing, and she’s added another one. Emily has done a lot, and she’s made a huge difference.”
Poletto and Andrews combined to help the Rams rank eighth in the NCAA in blocking a year ago. With Andrews’ departure, the Rams were ready to implement redshirt freshman Kirstie Hillyer into the middle blocker rotation. The duo has not disappointed, and to this point has been even more productive. As of Nov. 4, the Rams ranked third in the nation in blocking, with Hillyer individually sitting eighth. But blocking is not only for middle blockers – outside hitters, right-side attackers and even the setter can, and have stepped up at the net for CSU. This includes true freshman setter Katie Oleksak, who (as of Nov. 4) leads all setters in the NCAA in blocking.
“(Poletto and Hillyer) have done a great job,” Hilbert said. “Alexandra is a great blocker and she’s fast and she’s learned a lot about how to read the game in the past two years. Kirstie has less experience, but is physically really good.
“But let’s don’t forget, we have the top-ranked blocking setter in the United States. We have Jasmine Hanna, who is absolutely a shut-down player on her side of the court. Sanja Cizmic has improved as a blocker two-fold over what she was before.”
Oleksak and fellow true freshman Olivia Nicholson have had to learn quickly as the team’s primary six-rotation players. Both have exhibited impressive versatility in their rookie campaigns.
“Katie has become a smart defensive player,” Hilbert said. “She may miss some plays and she does have room for improvement, but she also sees things and controls controllables, which is something we really need as a middle-back player. I think they’ve done a tremendous job. If you look at how young we are and what we’ve done, I am really pleased.”
One statistic that Hilbert would like to see improvement is opponent’s hitting percentage. Last season, CSU ranked second nationally in the category. This year, CSU has had to climb all season to get into the 60’s. While CSU has put up gaudy blocking numbers and is still in the thick of the MW title race, this stat shows the coaching staff that the Rams still have room to improve. Hilbert thinks this group will continue to do so.
“There are specific situations where I am not quite satisfied, but overall I am pleased with the progress,” Hilbert said. “What’s happened now is that we are focusing one match at a time, and that helps us prepare well and become better defenders. We’re able to coordinate our block and our defense and create more scoring opportunities for ourselves out of our defense. You should have that increase as you head into conference play. It’s still not where I’d like it to be, but it’s a great trend.”
